Creating & living a truly authentic life, living in "Our Little House In The Big Woods". Raising many children, working in the arts, writing, film making, learning to create quilts, painting, exploring gardening, traveling, restoring a vintage dollhouse, hunting for antique treasures & chasing our big dream to live by the sea, all on a thrifty, frugal budget.

We're taking some time in between packing & purging to do some planning for our meals over the next few weeks. Still waiting for our Possession Letter that will state our actual move in date, so we're keeping busy & trying to be proactive so we'll be ready once our time frame has been identified. For the week of April 18th to April 24th, here's what we have chosen to create to nourish our busy souls:

Saturday, April 18th, 2015:

Parmesan Chicken with Steamed Veggies & Wild Rice.

Sunday, April 19th, 2015:

Annie's Organic White Cheddar Pasta with Kale Salad.

Monday, April 20th, 2015:

Boneless Pork Chops with Mashed Purple Cauliflower.

Tuesday, April 21st, 2015:

Stir Fry with leftover pork & Veggies.

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015:

Swedish Meatballs with Brown Rice & Pickled Beets.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2015:

Turkey & Cranberry Buns with Ginger Carrot Soup.

Friday, April 24th, 2015:

Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce & Coleslaw.

We bought groceries today & spent a total of $64.06. That gave us all the ingredients we need up to Thursday. Then we'll need to buy the turkey, the buns, the beets & the salmon for Friday night. We'll also need milk by then & a few small things to add to lunches. Not sure the cost yet but we try to keep our groceries to around $150 for the week. Right now, I'm trying to use up what's in our freezer & what we have in the cupboards so we aren't having to pack up food to move or throw away. A very good start.

Today is my day off for the long weekend. Everyone else had Saturday to Monday off but I work on Saturdays, so my three day weekends are always Sunday to Tuesday. I had great plans of leaping out of bed, dropping C off at school & then powering through the house, finishing the last few reno items & packing up the last of the items we can pack away that we don't technically need. We woke up to rain & dark skies, that soon turned darker with flakes of snow falling, mixed with the rain. A cold, windy, snowy, drizzly day.

After a another weekend of back breaking, body aching, physically exhausting reno work, mixed with packing & a bit of yard work on the side, my plans quickly changed when I came home after dropping said child off. I did a bit of laundry, tidied up, then set myself up in a "nest" of blankets, books, my laptop, my camera for editing, my phone, the tv remote, a hot water bottle & a pot of tea. As the rain hit the roof & blurred the windows, I settled in for a long day of writing, editing & musing about life. Part way through the day, I realized how my Mondays, the day everyone else goes back to work & I get to stay home, was lost in the long weekend. So this week, Tuesday became my official day off!

I felt guilty for a bit then let it go. In the past, my day off was truly a day to get myself grounded, a time to catch up with the little things I can't always do with a crowd of people around me & space to just be. To sit & reflect, time for enjoying the moments. Once I'm back at work tomorrow, I take off running, so I truly do cherish this time alone. I've neglected my days off a lot since we started the big push to sell then move. It has felt like all my waking moments have been taken up by work & the move. Not much time for rejuvenating my mind, my body & my soul. The rain changed my original plan but in the end, it was the best kind of day off to have. I feel great & ready to go back tomorrow.

April 5, 2015

Today, the Photo Challenge is to share my favorite color. As an artist, I love color! It's hard to truly choose just one so I have one pic that shows my color palette for the new house. The wall color we chose is called "Winter Gray" & we've teamed that up with an ivory color called "Camelot" & a green shade of sage called "Kittery Point". The last two colors are for our kitchen, great room, bathrooms & laundry room cabinets. I'm terrified to see what this will look like in the end. Hoping it all comes together. With warm wood floors, in my head, I think it will be fine. But oh the gamble we've taken! I hope in the end we don't hate our choices ....

My family, friends & co workers often say they have a hard time figuring me out. I have me figured out! But that doesn`t help them! Today, someone on FB sent me this great article. After reading it, I posted, with the extremely high hopes all my lovey`s will finally get ME!!

It`s not easy being a highly creative person, especially in a world that expects conformity. I`m hoping this article will shed some light on how I & many others live on a daily basis. Read the article here if you have a highly creative person in your life or you just want to learn more about our unique personalities. We struggle daily but find ways to live with a highly creative brain that never stops, is always dreaming & at times is successful with the process.